Chrono Relics
by Benevoson
Summary: Though the stories of Trigger and Cross have long since passed, there are still those who have been plagued by Lavos. Now, they will use the heroes' power against them. Rated T for intense battle scenes, drama, and some language. NOTE AS OF MAY 24TH 2013: Currently have major writer's block, but I am still highly interested in finishing this story.
1. Chapter 1

**Chrono Relics**

**Though the events of Cross may have saved the lives of the ones we all know and love, once again they are put on the line.**

_**Disclaimer: Chrono Trigger/Cross are property of Square Enix. This is only a fanfiction by a dedicated fan and is not intended for profit or any other gain.**_

_Chapter 1_

Have you ever considered the idea of multiple existences? Perhaps beyond our own universe, there are different worlds: ones that may also call a planet Earth their own, but things we call paranormal they see as nothing unusual. Maybe there are even other existences that would view our modern philosophy as knowledge only gods are worthy to wield. However, it is not limited there. Even with multiple existences, each individual existence can have different planes of time. To many who read this, there is a particular existence that has many such planes. What some don't realize, is that time can be considered like a fine woven fabric such as silk. The many threads make up one being, and yet one strand can be considered its own. The same can be true that though there can be many time planes, they are all still one story. Also, this one being can be part of an even bigger picture, which can make a quilt that is all of time, space, and existence.

When one decides to tamper with such a balance, the results can most certainly be disastrous. For this existence, many doers of wicked have pulled at threads to tangle them with others. The first was in the form of a hostile visitor to a different Earth who sought nothing but to feast upon its power. However, a group of heroes had risen against this power and vanquished it, but not before its power spread to others, whose wickedness had allowed the dark spirit to manifest in themselves. The corrupted then further pulled at the threads of time to undo the selfless deeds of these heroes and possibly claimed their lives. As the order of good and evil goes, there was yet another group who had risen and vanquished this evil yet again, and in this plane, the first heroes have been set free. What many do not understand though, is that no man a part of this fabric can purge it of all impurities. It would only take the Creator of such a fabric to be able to cleanse it. As such, there is another wicked one who has remained hidden from the heroes, convinced he knows the flaws of the previous. Since there is still snags and pulls from the previous encounters, this one may even pull it to the point where the thread will completely unravel, and all of this existence will be destroyed. Even if the righteous wish to stop this, there must also be a way that no one can move the delicate threads again.

o

In this time, there is a worn down castle that is infamous for once housing the sorcerer Magus. No explorer had dared approach it, and it had remained that way, though it was four century and a score ago. The shame is that if one was brave enough, they would have seen that the castle is all but abandoned. In fact, the place was being used in secrecy to raise a militia of sorts. One person stood upon a balcony, arms behind their back, that oversaw a great hall. In this hall, which was barely lit by a few torches, there were what appeared to be thousands of gangly and gaunt soldiers sparring in groups. They were all nearly identical: pale and slightly sagging skin, sunken dark eyes, and only a few wisps of mangy hair that poked out from under their helms. Their armor was complete with a breastplate and covering for their arms and legs. The man stared in slight amusement at one soldier who had managed to stab at the other's neck, which resulted in a phantom spray of gore before the victim collapsed, now nothing but bones and armor. He frowned at the fallen soldier and murmured to himself, "It's no wonder Magus captured souls to use as slaves. They are quite formidable."

His attention was soon caught by a shuffling of robes from behind. Another man approached wearing dried blood red robes and holding a book with both hands. The former turned around to face the new man, his darkest black robes swirling around him in the swift movement. The red cloaked man said in a low voice, "Master, I have found the one we want."

The master's expression did not change at first, then his thin lips curled slightly into a frown, making his pale features look even more angular. His red-brown eyes narrowed at the assistant and he replied with, "So you claim. Come, watch the soldiers and tell me."

The assistant then stood next to his master and looked at the fray, where there was the occasional clashing of swords and the clatter of bones and armor on the cobblestone. The two watched for a moment, then the master spoke without taking his eyes off of the fray below. "Talzar, I have never doubted you before, but lately, that has been changing. Can you prove to me you can still be trusted?"

Talzar smiled as another soldier fell, then replied. "I can. You know very well what we need to get next in our plans, and I have found the one who can grant that to us."

The master tore his eyes off of a dynamic sparring pair and bore his eyes into Talzar's. "Who is it?"

One thing that Talzar loved was hearing that others were interested in his plans. He grinned for a moment, then pointed to a page in the book. "According to history, the machine known as the Epoch has been dismantled, but one woman in this time knows how to rebuild it. Lucca Ashtear, or so-called the "famous Dr. Ashtear". With her, the Epoch will return and we shall return to the point of ultimate power. However, she will be needing some bribing."

The master raised an eyebrow at that statement. "What kind of bribing?"

Talzar once again had a horrible grin. "I think it's time to use this trinket." He lifted up what looks like an amulet. Supported by a black metal chain, the charm was a domed fist-size black amethyst held by the claws of dark brass. On the jewel was a golden picture of a wolf's howling head and ancient writing. The whole thing seemed to give off a light stealing aura. "I can awaken the curse on this amulet. Lucca will have no choice but to obey us once she is cursed. Her thoughts will be tapped into and we will soon have the Epoch."

At last, the master was satisfied. He slowly gained a thin smile of his own. "Well done, my assistant. Now, where are we going to find Lucca?"

Talzar had to look down at his book once again. His master frowned slightly at that prospect, but waited. In that minute, there were several clashes of swords from below and two clatters of skeletons before he looked up again. "What luck. She started an orphanage in Truce. Shall we take her the following dusk?"

The master maintained his solemn look and simply replied, "Yes, we may. Now, I believe our soldiers have trained enough tonight."

At the last words, he turned back out to the hall below and magnified his voice unnaturally. "Halt!" The command echoed numerous times as the clashes and movement stopped. A thousand soldiers looked up to him on the balcony. "Your training is finished for good. Tomorrow at dusk, we will travel to Truce and capture the famed Dr. Ashtear at the orphanage. Let it be known that all time shall fear the name Lord Serpedes!"

In praise, the soldiers cheered and lifted their swords for Serpedes. They slowly began to file out of the hall and into the bunkers. Once it was completely empty, Serpedes turned to Talzar and commanded him. "Prepare the boats for the capturing. We will need to prepare ourselves greatly."


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

Perhaps it would be assumed, but the Kingdom of Guardia prospered under the rule of their thirty-fourth King. The Queen was more wise about the politics involved with running the kingdom, but the King had an excellent sense of justice. These two strengths combined have allowed much change and strong rule. The marketplace in Leene's Square was filled with life as people walked from shop to shop, their voices mingling together to create the usual public clamoring. No one found it out of the ordinary when a young man completely covered in a dull brown mantle pushed along through the crowd, mostly because the colors were similar to most others'. It took him about two minutes before he reached his destination: the fountain in the center square. A girl, about sixteen years old, looked up at him in a flash of bright blue from her eyes. Even though the sun was almost behind the buildings and nearing sunset, her shoulder-length plum hair still had a shine to it, bringing out the faint greenish streaks a little more. She smiled at the approaching figure as if welcoming an old friend. "Looks like you were able to make it after all, Cassander!"

The young man removed his hood and revealed the reddish streaked blond and albeit messed spikes that was his hair. As he went to sit down next to the girl, he replied with sincerity. "I wouldn't break a promise for you, Talia! It's almost nothing to sneak out now since I've done it... How many times? I'm a professional now."

"Or you just got it from your mom." Talia said with a smirk.

"Shut up." Cassander deadpanned. "So anyways, what did you want to meet for?"

The mood took a more somber turn at that question. Talia could no longer make eye contact with her childhood friend, which is saying even more considering his apple-green eyes were always a marvel to most who saw him. She decided to begin with, "My mom. I don't know why, but she seems to be more... distant each day. Not even dad knows what it is. It seems all I hear her say is 'It's going to happen all over again. There's no way it can. It will be soon, but we're not ready.' Even Cyrus is catching on." The mention of her brother only deepened the mood. Cyrus, being only fourteen, was always a bright and happy person. No matter how bleak a problem seemed, he would always maintain some optimism. If even he was succumbing to his mother's worries...

It seemed to get to Cassander as well. "Now that you say that, I noticed something off about both of my parents as well."

"Really? Are they also saying things?"

"Well, not exactly. It shows more with mom. Usually she is fine, or bored, with the paperwork and other duties, but lately she has been dreading it for no reason and is just worried. I can see it bothering dad as well, but he hides it more, at least in public."

Talia frowned. She also had to press on with this new bit of information. "Have you heard them say anything about it? Like talking with each other?"

"Only bits and pieces. About two days ago, I was walking through the corridors when I heard them in the throne room. I managed to listen in behind the thrones. Mom said that she had a feeling that the peace wasn't going to last. It was the same feeling when they were on their adventures. She even mentioned it felt like they were targeting one of them. In fact, it was to the point where she mentioned the feeling when they were in Zeal Kingdom..." Cassander's words began to slow down."And, when the Queen was able to awaken Lavos... And when... when dad..."

Not even Talia could take the emotion that was blooming. "Oh... Cass..." The childhood nickname did little to brighten the situation.

With all of his will, he managed to continue. "She broke down at that point. Dad was comforting her as much as he could, then he said that he also had a feeling like that. What was different was that he was more confident, and said we have dealt with many things before, and that this wouldn't be too different."

It took time for realization to finally sink in. After a few moments of silence, Talia spoke up. "Does this mean that the time line is in trouble again? And how would they know?"

Cassander had something finally dawn on him, and it felt like his insides had been dipped in acid. "Magic. There must be something about magic that allows them to feel disturbances. But why hasn't your dad noticed?"

Being naturally born a scientist, Talia had to think about that explanation. "Hm, from what mom said, dad's magic never was as refined as her's or your parents'. It had to do with more focus on using broadswords or something..."

"...and we're not really trained in magic well. The only thing I know now is I have dad's element." He backed up his statement by holding out his hand and concentrating, which resulted in crackles of electricity dancing in between his fingers.

"I knew for a while I had mom's." Talia said with another smirk. Her palm was held out and had a golf ball sized flame hovering above it. "We're also pretty sure Cyrus has his dad's. One time, he was in his room alone when there was a crash from it. Mom and dad were pretty freaked out and we all ran upstairs. Turns out, he was soaking wet along with everything five feet from him. He said he was about to whack a fly that was bothering him and it just came out of nowhere."

Both Cassander and Talia had a chuckle out of that, which was much needed for such a dark discussion. In brighter spirits, Cassander was able to find a bright spot. "Well, even if something is going to happen, I have to agree with my dad. Besides, we may even get to do something ourselves." After he said that, he realized how much he really did want to have an adventure like his parents did. _Thank God that dad ordered I get sword fighting lessons, I might actually get to use them now!" _He was in the middle of his happy thoughts until he was abruptly pulled out. Talia was holding her head before she doubled over where she was sitting. Before she hit the ground, Cassander caught her. He turned her over and looked into her half-closed eyes, her face now pale. "Talia! What's wrong? What happened?" In his alarm, he was nearly screaming into her face.

Somehow, she had gained her energy back and was able to stand up. Her eyes widened and she spoke rapidly. "I'm pretty sure I heard my mom scream. We need to get to my house. Now."


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

Cassander wasn't sure if he should be more shocked about how she could hear her mom or that she just fainted. "Wh-what do you mean, heard your mom? Your house is two miles away!"

"I'm not sure either! I just know we need to get there ASAP!" Talia was all but dragging him by the hand at this point. Cassander was more built for mile runs_ (Once again, thank you God for giving me the gifts my father has!) _but Talia's panic was well enough energy to keep moving. At the most, it was ten minutes before they were crossing the bridge to the Treygun-Ashtear private island. Sure enough, there were zombie-like troops moving around the house like buzzing flies. They heard a door burst open on the opposite side accompanied by a large flare shot to the right and a huge wave to the left. The two were nearly tripping each other to get to the source of the flare. As they rounded the house, they had to press themselves against the wall to not get scorched by another barrage of flame. When the fire cleared, there were heat cracked bones and helms that used to be skeleton warriors littering the ground, surrounding a plum haired woman with large glasses. Talia called out to her mother and tried to join the battle. "Mom! What's happening?"

Lucca turned at the sound of her daughter's voice and yelled in reply. "Talia! They've finally come! I've known they would! Get my Wondershot and help!"

Talia wanted to stay here and help her mother more, but wasted no time in running for the door. She just grabbed the handle to make the door go flying when she shouted back. "Cassander! My dad should have a sword you can wield! Follow me!"

He shot through the door at the same time as Talia and made their way to Glenn and Lucca's room. Not a moment was spared as they nearly threw the bedroom door off of its hinges, where Talia ripped into the closet and hoisted the super powered gun into her arms. Cassander barely glanced at Glenn's sword collection on the wall before grabbing the one that looked like it would balance into his hand. With their acquired weapons, they turned to the door to sprint when a zombie-like soldier appeared in the doorway.

"Naughty little children! Trying to interfere with your future lord's plans, are you?" It spoke in a raspy voice. "You deserve to be punished! You could become great servants and rule right next to-"

It never finished its sentence, for Talia blasted solar energy right into its face. The armor it was wearing clattered to the ground as the flesh disappeared, leaving nothing but bones. The two were shocked that they just murdered a person, but then Cassander spoke to end the guilt. "That... that wasn't a person. I felt something else. It seemed to be a... trapped soul, taken from its rest and forced to work in a false body."

Talia's blood became ice water at that observation. She spoke with great difficulty. "We're... we're not dealing with a regular criminal. They... must be able to use magic."

Cassander began to feel a little nauseous. This situation was almost too much for him to think about, let alone handle. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the whole thing when he realized he was already down stairs and shooting out the back door to the melee. At first glance, things were looking grim. Glenn and Lucca were forced back to back while ringed by over five dozen enslaved souls. Though flames and tidal waves were still being conjured, the two were noticeably worn from the constant use of magic. Talia and Cassander wasted no time and began shooting or charging the rogue soldiers. With a few quick shots, Talia downed at least twelve and Cassander another with swift blade work. At last, the teens could enter the circle and joined Talia's parents. Unfortunately, more seemed to come to replace the ones Cassander and Talia downed, making them hopelessly outnumbered. As the four were backed into each other again, Lucca spoke to her daughter. "Talia, you need to get out of here. You need to remain safe; they're here for me, I just know it..."

Naturally, Talia wasn't going down that easily. "What? No! I have to stay here!"

At that time, a soldier decided to lunge for Cassander. He barely parried the blow, which resulted in a somewhat deep cut to burn on his right arm. He could feel the beads of blood run down his skin, but he paid no attention as he sliced the soldier at the chink in its armor near the neck. The bones and armor crumpled into a heap at the group's feet while the skull flew towards its comrades. Using this moment of hesitation, five other warriors made a leap that they knew they couldn't avoid. Talia cringed, waiting for the blow, while Cassander held his sword horizontally in front of him in a vain attempt to protect him.

The hit never came. They both opened their eyes to the sound of their bodies hitting a surface, and Lucca holding out her hand to form a barrier of yellow energy in front of the two. Glenn formed another wave to wash the soldiers away from the teens and rammed them into the ones behind them. Though the group was washed over the cliff into the ocean, it was to no avail. The soldiers closed in even tighter around them to the point they could reach their swords out to press them to their throats. One wrong move, spell cast, or blaster shot, and they could be ended there. A few of them began to surround Lucca with swords and bind her hands. Tears sparkled behind her glasses and she managed to get out a few last, though soft, words.

"I'm sorry Talia."

Talia wanted to scream, but her mouth felt like it was filled with sand. _This is how it's going to end? No... No..._

That was, until a blinding light shone from the side.

Even the capturers turned to the source, before being consumed by a dome of light along with all of the other slave soldiers. After what seemed like an hour, which was only about fifteen seconds, the white-green light slowly faded. All the soldiers were vaporized, leaving solely the armor. Finally, two figures approached from the direction of the light, which was a tall man with messed red hair and a woman with blond hair hastily pulled into a ponytail. A glint of golden wings could be seen through the man's hair on the sides of his head, and he looked slightly exhausted.

Cassander wasn't sure how to react with his parents' arrival, since being caught was the least of his worries right now. "Mom? Dad? Why are you out...?"

He faltered under Crono's stern look, but it was also mingled with some relief. "Cassander, how many times must I tell you about sneaking out? If your mother hadn't sensed what was going on..." He didn't want to think about such things. After all, he had experienced death himself.

"I-I'm really sorry dad. It's just that Talia felt something wrong, so we went to her house and... They were targeting Lucca."

Marle, or Nadia, looked at Talia in surprise. "You can also sense dark power? I thought that only Lucca and I could."

Despite the trauma just faced, Lucca couldn't help but smile. "She's so much like her mother. What else could I ask for?"

Glenn's solemnity even cracked at this moment. "She possess the traits of her mother, determination being the most fully passed, though the others be hardly lacking." His medieval dialect had faded over the years, but there was still prominence to it.

Crono looked at his son in much the same way. Cassander made eye contact and saw the pride in his father's eyes. If only he wasn't so busy with the kingdom all of the time...

It lasted only a moment. The exhausted silence was broken by Crono. "I think we all deserve a rest now. Especially the guards who didn't want to let us go..." He shared a lighthearted chuckle with himself, remembering how his wife had to plead with them along with force. Cassander showed his agreement by walking to his father's outstretched arm, while Talia followed suit with her mother's.

Of course, it couldn't end like that.

"Such a touching reunion. It's almost a shame that I have to break it up."

Everyone was shocked out of the moment as the low and cruel voice sounded from the top of the roof. Their heads turned in unison to the figure who spoke. The sun had just slid out of sight, making the blood red robes that cloaked him even more eerie. None of them had time to spoke before they were knocked to the ground by a wave of dark matter. Had they not been worn out by the previous battle, they would have sprung to their feet and defend themselves. Since that was not the case, the man leapt from the roof down to the exhausted group. Crono and Marle moved toward the attacker and attempted to raise their weapons, but were knocked to the ground by another wave of dark matter that drained the energy they had left. Lucca was then forcefully pulled up by her arms and was clutched by the cloaked man.

"Stop! Get away from her or I'll-" Talia never finished because another two dozen soldiers climbed up from the cliff and surround all of them, save for Lucca and the cloaked man. Four soldiers approached each of them from behind and pressed their against their throats. The one holding Talia rasped into her ear, "Make any move, and all of you will be killed right now. We only want the one Talzar holds."

Talia was already petrified in fear, so it wasn't much of a demand. She, along with all the others, could only look past the soldiers in wide eyed fear to see what was happening, barely noticing they were having gags put into their mouths.

The one that the soldier called Talzar pulled something out of his robes. With nothing but the twilight to see with, it looked like a chain necklace with an oversized jewel. He then proceeded to put the odd talisman around Lucca's neck. The result was instantaneous. It began to have a dark aura around it as Lucca became wide eyed and gasped in shock. Talzar bore a horrible grin. "You are now our servant." He grasped the jewel of the cursed piece and uttered what must have been an incantation. _"__Menyerahkan balik, dan biarkan kuasa serigala memakan anda.__" _

Everything was unbearable at that point. The dark aura proceeded to spread over Lucca as Talzar let go. Even then, Lucca could not stand up. Her breathing was becoming labored and she could only stay on her hands and knees. As Talia could only stare in horror, the soldiers released all of them with the deed being done. When the soldiers stepped back, Talzar turned to them and said "You have seen enough. Now you will rest." No sooner, he cast a dark spell over the four. It felt like a lead blanket pressed on Talia as her vision was slowly fading to black. Meanwhile, Lucca could not help but convulse from the effect of the pendant as an impenetrable shadow covered her entirety. The last thing Talia heard as her world faded away was an agonized scream that abruptly turned into an animal-like howl.

_I will...save you... mom... from... that... c... u... r..._


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

The breeze that blew through the corridors was one of the most perturbing noises she had ever heard. Her eyes immediately shot open, though her vision was still blurry. Even before it adjusted, she could see metal bars in front of her, feel musty sheets beneath her, and the room was very small and cramped and built with cobblestone. That was when she knew she was in a prison. It looked nearly identical to Crono's when he was unjustly jailed twenty years ago, but there was no sign of a guard, and she couldn't be in Guardia Castle. After taking in her surroundings, she realized how much her head was throbbing. As impulse goes, she moved her hand to her head in a desperate attempt to ease the aching. No fingers curled around her head, and extending them only caused needle points to prick her head.

That wasn't a good sign.

Panic flooded her as she brought her hand down- or not. More like a paw. _That _woke her up fully. Quickly, she eyed a water dish in the corner and jumped off of the lackluster bed to look at the reflection. The sight made her recoil in total shock, and it took a minute to gather her thoughts before she looked again.

The thing that stared back at her was not a plum-haired woman, but a beast that had bright blue eyes and was covered in red-purple fur. Its triangular ears stood straight up as even more shock settled in. It had all finally come crashing down.

Lucca had been cursed into a wolf.

Questions came flooding in at that realization. Is this what they wanted her for? Will she ever become human again? Where were her friends? Where was Glenn? Or Talia?

Talia... She just realized how brave she had become and it was taken away from her. _No, I can get it back. First, get out of here..._

How?

Rather untimely, a rhythmical clunking began to sound down the corridor, and it was becoming closer. It took a few seconds to recognize it as footsteps, since the new sense of hearing would take time to get used to. Naturally, Lucca didn't want to face any of her kidnappers, so she jumped back on the bed, her tail to the door.

The clunking had stopped, which had been amplified by boots, and the person was staring at the purplish wolf through the bars. What was not expected, however, was said person to smile and say cheerfully, "Well, it's about time ya woke up, big sis!"

Lucca immediately turned around. Only one person could have that Australian accent _or _call her big sis. Certainly enough, Kid was standing right there in her provocative Radical Dreamers outfit. "Kid? How are you here?" Lucca wanted to ask that, but it came out as soft barks and howls. She hated this form already.

Kid smirked at that attempt to reply. "I know what yer thinkin'. The soldiers here are bloody stupid; easy to sneak past. That's when I heard they had a prisoner for their 'grand plans'. Once I heard yer name, I knew I had to check it out. Of course, I also heard they changed you a bit. No kiddin'! So, I'm gonna get ya out of here." No sooner did she say that is when she pulled her dagger out of its scabbard and jammed it into the lock. Compared to the wicked dagger, the lock was quite pathetic and broke after a few seconds of fiddling. She flung the door open, to clang rather loudly against the wall and send dust and pebbles falling, and gestured for Lucca to exit. "We oughta get ya outta here before the blokes notice. Quick!"

Lucca had no other choice but to comply, she jumped down from the bed for the last time and joined her little sister. The two began walking left, where about 200 feet from them was a heavy wooden door that led them to their escape. Lucca couldn't help but look up at the clone of Schala she raised for so long as they were walking. Even after they had defeated FATE, Kid had gone off on her own and visited the orphanage occasionally. With slight amusement, Lucca thought it had something to do with Serge, but there could be other reasons alongside of it. It was quite a long time of staring before Kid stared back. That was also when she broke the long silence. "Oh yeah! Can you still use magic to make a flame or somethin'? Might need it if we run into some cheap bastards."

Of all the things Lucca thought changed when she became a wolf, magic was the last thing on her mind. To try, she stopped walking and sat back on her hind legs. Lifting up a paw, she concentrated the same way she does when casting fire. At first, there was nothing. When she pushed herself even more, she could get a flame to conjure above her paw. It wasn't much, but at least she still had her magic.

Kid had a somewhat quizzical look. "Huh, not much? Keep workin' on it." She just kept on walking. Naturally, Lucca didn't want to stop there, but since there was no choice, she grudgingly followed.

It seemed almost too easy.

They got through the door and up the stairs, which only led to another corridor, this one lined with torches and a long rug beneath their feet. It felt like an hour in complete silence of twisting through the hallways and opening a few doors to find empty rooms. Then, it happened. That rhythmical clunking noise that echoed when Kid found Lucca sounded again. However, there seemed to be more than one. It was at least six. Lucca's canine ears pricked up and she growled. Kid was shocked out of the long silence and turned to Lucca. "What's goin' on, big sis?"

Lucca quieted for a moment. Certainly enough, there were six soldiers coming there way. It took several seconds before Kid's expression turned from confusion to alarm. "Damn! Nowhere to run either! We're gonna have to take them!"

"Hey! They have the prisoner!" Too late. One of them rasped across the hall. Instinctively, Kid unsheathed her dagger and Lucca did her best to look intimidating complete with a snarl. The front soldier swung his sword down hard, but Kid just parried it with her short blade. In that moment, Lucca lunged toward the soldier and clawed at its face. Her claws raked deeply into the pseudo flesh, but it wasn't enough to "kill". The soldier began to flail around its sword, blinded by the gore that was now its face, and made a deep cut in her left hind leg. Lucca fell back and whined in pain from the slice. By some new instinct, she began to lick the wound, which slowed the bleeding, but not entirely the pain; it was barely reduced to a stinging. While she tended to her wound, Kid took the opportunity to plunge her dagger into the bloodied soldier's neck and proceeded to parry the slashing swords. Lucca finally had the chance to look up from her lessened wound and saw a horrifying moment.

Kid had been knocked down and the soldiers were standing over her, trying to land a fatal blow. At that time, thoughts of how much she loved Kid rolled through her. She remembered when she found her as a baby while walking through the woods with her Robo prototype. Even when she found out she was Schala's clone, she still appreciated, no, _loved_ her as a little sister. She wasn't going to stand to let this evil army take that from her, no less than they tried with Talia.

The thoughts seemed to awaken a new skill. It was the feeling of fire magic she was all too familiar with, but even cloaked in the curse, there was a way it was surging through her. With renewed strength, she stood up on all fours and focused, a low growl emitting as she concentrated. It became apparent the soldiers were never formally trained, because they turned their attention away from Kid to look at the now slightly glowing Lucca. By the time they raised their swords to defend themselves, it was too late. The exhilarating feel of a fully charge spell coursed through Lucca as she found a way to release it. There was a loud, echoing, bark that was overwhelming to the senses as the red aura was unleashed on the soldiers. They were individually engulfed in flame once the aura reached each of them, no chance of survival. Once the intense flame subsided, a dumbfounded Kid was surrounded by charred bones and partially melted armor. It took several seconds before she could stand up and look admiringly at Lucca. "Whoa, where'd ya learn how to do that?"

Lucca wanted desperately to tell Kid it was from her love of her. Since she couldn't tell, she tried to show it. The red-purple wolf approached the she-pirate and gently put her head against her leg, whining affectionately. Kid seemed to understand and patted her. "I love ya too, big sis." She spoke softly. To make the point bigger, she leaned down to hug her around the neck, which was returned when Lucca curled her head over her arm. The embrace lasted for about a minute before Kid stood back up and said, "Now, let's continue bustin' outta this hellhole."

_(Spacer, since everything else I do doesn't show up)_

The entirety of Guardia was unsettled. The latest gossip going around Leene's Square was that the entire royal family, being the king, queen, and prince, was found unconscious in front of the main gate of the castle. Of course, the three were spared that shock when a group of night shift soldiers found the three and took them to their rooms. Even then, the family discussed at great length the dark sorcerer that had fought for the king's lifelong friend. He had sent a messenger to check the orphanage to see if she was returned as well, but Crono did not keep his hopes high. Naturally, he has been greatly unsettled. Queen Nadia may be his soul mate, but Lucca was his lifetime pal. He had to admit to himself without Marle, he would have been the picture of insanity.

Sometime in the afternoon, the messenger had returned. Crono and Marle were sitting and discussing on their thrones, which seemed to be the only thing they did ever since the crisis. As the messenger approached, the two stood up to hear the reply. "Your majesties, we have the message you asked for."

"And what is it?" Crono inquired.

"It appears none of the orphans have been touched. Glenn has also been returned, along with the other Treygun-Ashtears..."

"And Dr. Ashtear?" Marle pushed.

The messenger hung his head low. "It appears that she has not returned. I am sorry, your majesties."

Both of their hearts sank, but Crono was a little more hurt by the message. "You've done your job. Thank you." He dismissed the messenger with a hand wave. As soon as he had walked down the steps and out of sight, Crono buried his face into his hands. Certainly, he wasn't ready to accept the loss of his peer he has known for all of his life. Marle had somewhat understood this, and she tried to comfort her husband by reaching over and rubbing his back. It had some of an effect; his breathing began to stabilize. There was one thing she could say to him, that being something she truly believed and possibly he could. She then leaned over and said softly to him those words.

"There is still hope."

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After that little fight, the rest of making their way through the labyrinth of corridors was quite uneventful. In fact, it took almost too long. Kid, with her pride, didn't want to admit she was lost. Lucca, meanwhile, was still trying to get used to her new form. The sharpened sense of hearing was definitely being the most difficult, for the constant footfalls of her little sister was enough to irk her. She could also see better in the dark, though that did not interfere much. Smelling was something she did not consider at first. In fact, it wasn't until she did her own way of sighing that she caught something. The castle air was musty and dank, but from the left path of a fork, there was the slight whiff of clean, fresh air. Of course, Lucca thought this was a result of her wishful thinking to get out of this prison. To make sure, she continued sniffing that direction, and indeed, it was not her imagination. With nothing else to do, Kid looked quizzically at her. "What're ya doin'? You pick up somethin'?"

Lucca replied to her question by bounding down that direction, following the new scent. Kid had no choice to run after her, which wasn't much compared to all the raids she had done. For once, Lucca began to appreciate her new form; she could run non-stop through the corridors, save for sniffing out the correct path at forks. In a few minutes, Lucca had found a wooden door, where the clean air was much stronger than before. Kid caught up to the wolf after a few seconds and pushed opened the door. Certainly enough, there were stairs leading upwards. That meant their escape. The two wasted no time in bounding up the steps. When they reached the top, however, their joy was cut short.

Laid out before them was a great hall. It was no smaller than a kilometer square, dimly lit with a few torches, and a very high ceiling. Most worrying, to their left about fifty feet away, there were even more gaunt soldiers in paired intervals along the long and narrow dark blue rug in the center of the room. Kid thought for a moment, then she picked up a stone on the ground next to her. She leaned toward Lucca and whispered to her quietly. "I'm gonna throw this stone to the left. When they're distracted, we run and you blast them or somethin'."

Lucca agreed to the plan with a shake of her head. Kid leaned out slightly and prepared to throw the stone. At that moment, it became terribly clear Kid was not good at whispering, because she was about to throw when Lucca nudged her with her head. Lucca stared forward in what Kid assumed to be horror, because she looked in the same direction, and received the stare back, times many more. "Never mind. We just run."

Lucca and Kid sprang out of the hallway and into the open, where the soldiers began rasping "Prisoner escaping! Prisoner escaping!"and charging after them. Despite the wild frenzy of running, Lucca was able to concentrate a part of herself and turn around to face the soldiers. Both Kid and Lucca greatly out sped the soldiers, so she had enough time to release her red aura with another sonic bark and raze about half the soldiers. They both turned back around to continue running, but were met by a wall of the survivors. At this point, the whole castle was in a ruckus as soldiers were pouring in from other hallways. They needed to get out. Fast. Kid unsheathed her dagger and began to take stabs at the openings in the soldiers' armor. Mostly, she could only parry the blades, but a few received a stab to the face, which resulted in them falling to the ground and lying there for a bit before their fake skin disintegrated. Lucca distracted a few of them from Kid by taking swipes at their faces and other areas. They were able to run past after about six kills, with each of them only having a small cut on their arm (or front leg in Lucca's case). At last, the door was in sight.

But of course, things were never to be let easy for them, and yet more had come to block the way. Soon, they were surrounded. Kid and Lucca looked around in desperation, but alas, there was no opening. The same sense of panicked concentration came over Lucca again as it did when Kid was threatened. This time, her thoughts flashed to all of her friends. Crono, Marle, and of course, Glenn. What would they do if she was killed, or otherwise never seen again? How would Cyrus or Talia manage? Time was running out; the soldiers were running to close in the two and out of the corner of her eye, Lucca thought she saw a flash of dark red robes.

That was the man who had cursed her.

A flash of rage fueled the magic she already had growing. The soldiers were ten feet away, and it was now or never. She pointed her nose upward and focused her energy above her. A blazing fireball began to form, causing the soldiers to hesitate for a moment. At last, the time felt right, and she snapped her head down to release the fire in a great explosion of aura and inferno. The result was more than astounding. The soldiers were razed so much that even their bones has been scorched into charcoal, and their armor was all but liquefied. Kid was dazed by such a performance, but a whip of Lucca's tail brought her back into charging for the exit. They were a few feet away from the wide open doors when the last resort defense had appeared in front of them. Kid did not waste time and swiftly stabbed into two of their faces. They made one last bound out of the door, but another soldier had swiped at Kid's right calf, leaving a cut nearly to her bone. Her willpower was bursting at the seams to not cry out from the pain and keep running, far from the castle as possible. Talzar had pushed his way into the front and was about to command more soldiers to chase after them, but then a voice boomed out from behind them all. "Let them go!"

All had fallen silent and turned to Serpedes, who had given that command. Talzar was confused at such a statement, and was about to say so. "But, why? Isn't she needed?"

Serpedes shook his head and spoke to his assistant. "You fool. Don't you see? They are the perfect bait for the things we want. Do you remember the only way to break the curse?"

Talzar opened his mouth to speak, but closed it. He did know, and it made perfect sense. Though they had not tapped into her thoughts yet, she was already working for them, little did she know. A change in plans was fine as long as it ended the same way.

"Now, return. I believe our new servant will take care of this for us."

Everyone in that room began to return to their bunkers, save for Serpedes. He had stayed behind to look around the castle once again. It was not because he was still unfamiliar with some of it, but rather, it was _too_ familiar. Even as he had moved into here for the first time, there was a vague feeling of already being here. As he looked around one last time, his red-brown eyes almost had a light of their own. The illusion only lasted a second, and then he proceeded to turn around and exit the now empty hall, contemplating the strange feelings about this place.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

_Long over due disclaimer: Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, and their characters are both property of Square Enix. The only characters I own are Lord Serpedes, Talzar, Cassander, Talia, and Cyrus Jr._

One can only run so far with an injury on their leg. This is especially true with one that nearly severed a tendon. Lucca and Kid did not stop running until they cleared the cave that was the only way to the isle the castle was on. At this stop in a deciduous tree grove, Kid pressed a hand to her bleeding gash. It helped a little, but then the blood threatened to seep out from between her fingers. In desperation, she tore off a sleeve from her already lack thereof shirt and tied it tightly around the wound. "God, bugger..." She sighed, more annoyed than in pain. "There's gotta be someone headin' to Truce around here. Unless ya know the way, sis?"

In all honesty, Lucca only had a guess as to how to get to Truce. From the big adventure, she vaguely remembered traveling from Middle Ages Truce to Magus's Castle, which is what she realized was the place they had imprisoned her. Why they chose a half destroyed castle was beyond even her, but she thought of there possibly being a significance to the current occupants of the castle. To simplify her answer to Kid's question, she swiftly shook her head, but continued to look around. There seemed to be a path through the trees, and she made her point more clear by beginning to walk ahead. "I thought the rescuer did most of the leadin'." Kid mumbled to herself before once again following Lucca. It took about an hour to get through the grove, which only led to a wall of trees that signified the start of Fiona's Forest. Kid, not knowing the story of the forest as well as Lucca did, let out a loud, exasperated groan. "Ya think ya know where you're goin', then we only find more bloody trees! I love ya as my big sis, but it's the middle of the bloody night and we need to find... civilization!" As stressed as Kid was, her pride still refused to use the word "help" to refer to what she needed.

Lucca immediately replied to her short rant with a firm bark, which was the only way she could say, "I know what I am doing, just be patient!" She then turned to face the trees and began to walk forward. Kid made one more groan before following after, muttering to herself. "The effin' things I do for me sister!" Lucca's desperation began to show as well, for as she trudged through the seemingly endless trees, she howled and whined loudly to signal for help. Hopefully, someone from the shrine would hear them.

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It was getting to be too much for him. No longer could he sit in his throne like a king should, but only pace around the room nervously, swiftly returning to the proper place at the slightest twitch that someone may be coming. The thought of Lucca being gone forever, it was much like a sister being slaughtered right before your eyes. This was fueled by the fact that the last seconds he saw her was being cursed by that dark amulet.

The amulet.

That sent a whole new volley of questions into his mind. What did it do to her? Will she act differently? Is she being haunted? Or, worst of all, will she be completely unrecognizable? Possibly even forget who he was, being replaced by nothing but pain?

Just as the worst was coming, his attention was drawn to the sound of footsteps coming from the hallway to his bedroom. By his routine, he flew over to the throne and hastily sat down just as Marle appeared at the foot of the steps. She walked the few feet to the thrones and looked at Crono with much worry. "Dear? It's very late. Can you at least come to our bedroom?"

Crono let out a stressed sigh and walked over to his wife. He looked at her only to have pleading sea green eyes look back, which softened him a little. Even though it had been 20 years since they defeated Lavos, he could still remember the feeling of her being next to him, whenever it was battle or walking around the countries. That led to more memories of them together: when he asked her father for her hand in marriage, him approving of it, the day of truth actually happening, when they found out she was pregnant, and when Prince Cassander had arrived. It was then he realized that the whole time, he had loved her deeply, and still did, maybe even more.

Simply put, he loved Marle too much to not tell her everything that bothered him. Once she was in arm's reach, Crono put his arm around her waist and they walked up the stairs together. Now was the time he had to say everything in his thoughts, like having poison within him and to taste it on his tongue as he spoke. "There's a lot more to it than just Lucca. It's the fact that she's been a part of my life for as long as it is. As if it wasn't bad enough they took that from me, or all of us, we also saw them putting that dark amulet on her. God knows what it did to her, but I can imagine it was horrible. We might not recognize her, she might not recognize us, or maybe they even turned her against us. Can you imagine her being by their side? And they send her for us, and all she sees from us was a world of pain and suffering? What if even-"

Marle couldn't listen to him say those things anymore. She put a finger to his lips and started her comfort. "Crono, you can't let anything give you anxiety like this. You could be over thinking. And even if not, is it anything like we haven't handled in the past? I mean, you know that you shouldn't be here today after what happened in Zeal Kingdom, but you are. That's because we were able to bring you back. If we were able to get you back, why not Lucca?"

Crono heaved a deep sigh, then he continued, his eyes half-closed. "I see. It's just, she was like the sister I never got. She was picked on a lot by other kids when we were young. I wanted to make sure she felt fully supported, unlike me, because of my father..."

There was absolutely no exception to the rule that Crono's dad was a highly sensitive subject. The fact that it was brought up by Crono himself meant that the whole situation became more serious for both of them. At first, Marle thought she had it bad with her father: little to no freedom, having to sneak out to do anything interesting, and being dragged to boring and monotonous Privy Council meetings. Of course, had her father not been so strict, she likely would have never sneaked out to see the fair and, quite literally, run into the man who was now holding her 20 years later. Crono's story, however, is not as happy. He had told Marle the story once, but she didn't want to remember the full details of it. All she had to know was that it involved a major fight between his parents, a sister he never had due to a miscarriage by beating, and the last and bitter words he heard his father say to him as he was being dragged away by the Guardian soldiers: "Son, you better not marry any bitches like this; I _will_ know if you do." That was then the door closed on his insane expression. Presumably he was executed the next day, which was no doubt for the better.

To their relief, they had arrived at the bedroom. Crono reached out and opened the door with his spare arm and let go of Marle to allow her to walk to the bed. He changed out of his robes surprisingly quick and joined his wife, folding the sheets over and climbing in. She turned over and looked at him, noticing he was still quite stiff with worry. "Crono, just try to get some sleep. If we need to, we can send out a search party for her. Just... please rest."

Crono sighed. "I'll try. Good night, Marle." He gave her a peck on the lips before trying to drift off. Marle slowly closed her eyes, but something was nagging in the back of her mind. Was there possibly some truth to Crono's concerns? There was a feel like that. Should she listen to that feeling? After all, she could feel it for days when someone would come for them, and came they did: for Lucca. Despite the worry, she drifted off, though with a slightly less sense of security.

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She could only howl for so long. Lucca began to sway as she walked on all fours, panting for a bit before feebly howling in misery again. Even Kid had sleeplessness in her eyes, who clumsily trudged after the wolf. Soon, it was too much. Lucca whined more than howled before collapsing at the base of a tree. Kid followed suit, sitting herself down to the left of her sister and leaning against the trunk. She let out an exhausted and despaired sigh and felt herself already drifting off. Soft snores were coming from the wolf-turned human as she fingered her dressed wound. The blood had mostly dried and she could feel it trying to scab over, which wouldn't be a big deal if they could get sis's queen friend to heal it. As she lowered her hand to the ground, she slowly closed her eyes, mumbling "We're getting' outta this together sis, I know we will."

It felt like her eyes were only closed for a few seconds before she heard the sound of steps crunching the leaves that made the forest floor. From her gritty raider instincts, her eyes shot open and she turned her head left and right in the near darkness. Lucca was already standing bolt upright and staring straight ahead, her tail wagging and hitting the tree in anticipation. Certainly enough, the dim glow of an oil lamp could be seen several yards away through the trees. When it seemed to move a few feet to the left, Lucca whined loudly to signal the approaching person. This caused the rustling and crunching to stop abruptly. Kid used this moment to jump to her feet, causing jolts of pain from her gash, and called out. "Hello? We see ya there! We need help! Come over here!" After a few tense seconds of hesitation, the mysterious lamp holder began trudging toward Kid and Lucca. "Yes! Over here! Can ya lead us to shelter?" The light grew brighter as it drew near, and after going past one final tree, it blinded the two before being brought down to the side of the holder, which was a woman in a nun's robes. She looked somewhat tired in the glow of the lamp, but also relieved. "We heard something from the shrine. It sounded like it needed help. Would that have been you?"

So, they had been heard after all. Kid smiled in relief and walked over to the wolf, patting her on the head. "Yes, that would've been me doggy here; we both got lost and need to get back to Truce soon as possible." Lucca played along by happily panting. Kid silently praised herself for being able to make up lies quickly. If she couldn't, well, she didn't want to imagine that.

The nun seemed to take this. Then she looked a little confused. "Truce? How did you wander that far away? We can send you on a ferry in the morning, but first, come with me back to the shrine. It's quite late, after all." She didn't question them being from Truce any further and motioned for them to follow her. With the small amount of rest they had, they were able to walk alongside the nun in the lamplight, stepping over tree roots Kid usually tripped over (Lucca could see better in the dark) before they stopped to rest. It was about a fifteen minute walk, which was a welcome break compared to the run, before they could see the spires that indicated the shrine between the trees. Kid was not as familiar with it, so she gazed at the ornately built building dedicated to Fiona and Robo. It looked much like one would expect a traditional chapel to look like with indigo spires and a stained glass painting of a woman that must have been Fiona. Kid and Lucca stopped a few feet away from the door as the nun continued and reached her free hand to open one of the ornately carved wooden double doors. The door swung open to reveal rows of pews with a blue long carpet down the middle. Kid and Lucca continued forward into the shrine, which was lit brightly by torches. The nun turned off the lamp she was carrying and walked over to the others which sat in the pews; apparently, they were also worried about the stranger in the forest. "I have found them. They need to rest here for the night and return to Truce in the morning." She explained to the rest. They all rose from the pews nearly in unison and filed out to the door that led to the rooms. The leader turned to Kid. "I will show you to your room. We will bring you food if you need it."

As she said that, Kid realized how hungry she was. She hadn't eaten since last evening, which was when she was having dinner, a loaf of bread, under a tree near Truce. That was when she saw the blokes of soldiers walk past her carrying a tied up unconscious wolf, saying things like "We got Ashtear; our master will be so proud!" Thus started this whole run-away-like-a-fugitive operation. Not needing to go into those details, she simply replied, "Yes, thank yew." and followed after her. In truth, Kid felt a little awkward, since she wasn't used to being treated in such a way outside of her sister and brother-in-law. Normally, people took a look at her clothes and scowled at her for being a pirate and raider. _Maybe it's somethin' to do with nuns. Religions can be weird. _It was only a walk down the hall and three doors down on the left before she opened the door to a rather simple room. It was about fifteen by fifteen feet with a simple bed in the far right corner paired with a nightstand and a table oil lamp. There was also a small bookshelf on the left wall flanked by two armchairs. The whole room was tied together with a coffee table in the middle set on a wavy weave oval rug. Kid and Lucca stepped in, with Kid sitting on the bed almost right away and Lucca walking slightly toward the bookshelf.

"Stay here, and I'll return with some food." The nun said gently before closing the door, followed by footsteps down the hall. Kid pulled back the blanket on the bed and half way got in. The softness of the sheets immediately made her miss the little house she stayed at with Serge. The two always had a spark between them, but it was able to cultivate after their journey had ended. Mostly, they owned a small house on the continent east of Truce, but they traveled a lot, both together and alone. The last thing Kid said to him was that she felt the need to visit Truce again. She replayed the conversation in her mind.

"_Serge?" Kid called as she looked over to him._

"_Yes? Is there something you need?" There he goes, showing his protectiveness, mostly in voice inflection._

"_Well, I've just had this feeling, it's a might strange though. It's telling me I need to visit Truce alone sometime. Ya know, my big sis' an' all..."_

_Serge had a bit of concern in his chocolate eyes, and not from the alone part; he was used to that. "What do you mean, feeling? Is there something else going on?"_

_Kid had to break the eye contact somewhat. "I... can't really describe it. It's somethin' that's been botherin' me a while. I think it has to do with sis', but all I know is that I have to be there. Ya understand?"_

_Serge had heard Kid talk about Lucca a lot. However, he didn't get to meet her until after his adventures, because she had been killed by that psychopath Lynx in the now alternate time line. If he didn't get to see this time line where Lucca was never murdered and Kid wasn't a walking storm of negative emotion, he probably wouldn't even have a will to live in it. After having to go through that, he completely understood the concerns for her sister. He took a deep breath, then responded. "Yes... I do. Just, promise me you'll only spend as much time as needed. And please... come back." The last words were something he didn't want to think of, let alone say. Though he wasn't even engaged to Kid, it felt like the two were bonded in such a spiritual way that one would think they were married._

_Though Kid knew his seriousness, she couldn't help but tease a little. "I know, but ya know I can take care of me self quite well!" Her tone became more serious. "I bet ya all the things I've ever stol'n that I'll be back in this house. I've too much here to leave behind, right?"_

_Serge actually smiled at her confidence. "You're right. I believe in you. You may go. When you return, I will be here, waiting for you." At this point, Kid walked over to Serge and embraced him, which he returned. She also managed to sneak a hard kiss on his lips before they broke off and she grabbed her dagger and a loaf of bread. She walked over and opened the door to the late afternoon. As she was about to close the door, she took one last glance at Serge, who echoed his final thought once again. "I'll be here, waiting for you." Those were the words that reverberated for both of them long after the door slammed shut._

As she looped Serge's last words in her mind, she looked over at Lucca. Amusingly enough, she managed to paw a book off of the shelf and was laying in front of it, obviously reading. She smiled at her big sister. _So typical of you big sis', doing anythin' to read a book._ Her moment was interrupted when there was a knock at the door, which was the nun with the food.

"C'm in!" she called out simply. The door then swung open to reveal her carrying a small basket filled with apples and a few loaves, and something wrapped in parchment, which Lucca sniffed a little at, intrigued. She set the basket on the coffee table and held up the parchment package. "We managed to find something for your dog as well." She unwrapped the top of the parchment to reveal a medium-sized steak, cooked, much to Lucca's relief. She set it on the ground, using the parchment as a plate, and began to leave the room. "I'll come back to wake you up around nine thirty. The next ferry to Truce leaves about an hour after that, and it's not a long walk to the dock from here. In the meantime, I hope you are comfortable here." Then, she closed the door, leaving a peaceful atmosphere in the room by the lamplight.

Lucca had managed to make herself comfortable by chewing small bites off of the steak at a time. Kid also offered her an apple, which she accepted and gnawed on. Kid took a loaf from the stack and began to devour it, considering she hasn't eaten for over 24 hours. It was gone within two minutes, and she moved onto an apple. Once she had eaten her fill, she laid down in the bed and slowly dimmed the lamp. By that time, Lucca had finished her steak and apple and had laid down on part of the rug, drifting off to sleep. Kid took one last look at the wolf, imagining her sister's real face the last time she saw it, and then turned off the lamp completely. She laid her head on the pillow and thought of how long it would be until she could return. No doubt she would return to Serge, that much was sure, but she wasn't leaving until her sister was freed from the wolf's bind. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew this would require some of her friend's help as well. _After all, they probably know her a might better than I do. _The thought was strangely comforting, and she found herself drifting off for the night. The last thing she could remember before she lost conscious was hearing it again, though it seemed even more real.

_I'll be here, waiting for you._


End file.
